OMMA Catalogue Number

OMMA-0079

Artist

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Title

“Simmer Down / I Don’t Need Your Love”

Release Details

7-inch single issued in Jamaica in 1964 on Coxsone (catalogue number: none listed). The present copy is a factory-distributed white-label promotional pressing, consistent with informal Studio One–era distribution in which titles were often identified by hand annotation rather than full print labeling. 

Edition & Variant Identification

First press promotional edition, factory-distributed white label with hand-written song identification on both sides. The label additionally bears a faint “MUSIK CITY 136d ORANGE ST” stamp (most legible on the B-side), with partially readable promotional copy including fragments consistent with: “First with the Latest Foreign and Local Records.” This stamp is substantially worn on the A-side but remains partially visible.

Matrix & Pressing Data

Matrix / Runout (Runout A): C DODD – II – 13

Matrix / Runout (Runout B): C DODD – I – 12

Physical Description

7-inch record pressed on translucent blue vinyl. Both sides carry white paper labels with hand-written identifiers: “Simmer Down” is clearly written on Side A and partly crossed out on Side B; “I Don’t Need Your Love” is also visibly present on Side B, with additional hand annotations consistent with informal titling practices for Jamaican promo copies of the period. The B-side label shows the “MUSIK CITY 136d ORANGE ST” stamp most clearly; the A-side shows the same stamp in a partially legible form.

Factory-Origin Characteristics

White-label presentation with hand annotation and address-stamping is a period- and regional-correct distribution characteristic rather than a defect, reflecting non-standardized Jamaican manufacturing and circulation practices in the early-1960s, reflecting the local pipeline from manufacture to company-owned record shop to local sound system DJs.

Condition Report

Extensive in-period surface wear consistent with heavy handling. Audible surface noise is present throughout, with pronounced crackle at lead-in and quieter passages; playback reported as stable with no skips or locked grooves. No cracks, repairs, edge fractures, or heat warp are reported; the disc remains structurally intact. Labels show heavy wear and abrasion with significant loss and discoloration; nonetheless, hand-written title identifiers remain clearly visible. The “MUSIK CITY 136d ORANGE ST” stamp is substantially worn on the A-side but on the B-side it remains more legible, including fragments of promotional copy. (“First with the Latest Foreign and Local Records”) Overall, a high-use early Jamaican working/promotional copy. OMMA grade VG.

Provenance

Acquired directly from a Jamaican collector operating as Discogs user readyvinylrecords, described as a collector/seller active for over 20 years. Seller correspondence indicates the record came from early personal/family holdings (which included his grandmother’s Wailers records) and was sourced from the seller’s private collection. Purchased by OMMA 1/1/2026.

Photomatching & Verification

OMMA maintains photographic documentation supporting identification features of the present copy, including translucent blue vinyl, white-label format, hand-written title identifiers, the “MUSIK CITY 136d ORANGE ST” stamp (strongest on B-side), and runout inscriptions.

Market Context & Historical Notes

“Simmer Down” represents the first commercially successful recording by Bob Marley and the Wailers and stands among the most significant early releases in Jamaican popular music. Issued during the formative Studio One era, the record documents the transition from ska to more socially assertive vocal group recordings and marks Marley’s emergence as a central figure within Jamaica’s recording industry.

Records such as this circulated in Jamaica’s sound-system musical culture, which featured mobile DJ crews who played in public venues with speaker stacks. Crews competed for exclusivity and the presence of quick-turn singles and the records were played heavily at informal, open-air events. Studio One (Coxsone Dodd’s enterprise) developed in direct relationship with this sound-system economy. As a result, well-used copies such as this function as primary historical artifacts of the music’s original social life.

The Musik City record shop, located at 136D Orange Street, Kingston, was Coxsone Dodd’s Orange Street retail/distribution operation. Dodd signed Bob Marley and the Wailers, produced and engineered “Simmer Down,” manufactured the record through his Studio One label, and distributed it through the shop, reflecting his central importance to the development of reggae. Meanwhile, Orange Street was the core “Beat Street” corridor of Kingston’s early record economy, a district that contained music heritage sites and several dozen record stores, studios, and music executive offices, thus, the record is physically marked with an address from the central street of Jamaican music culture.

Canonical Status in OMMA

This release is recognized by the Origins of Modern Music Archive as Bob Marley and the Wailers’ first artist-billed commercial release, representing the Wailers’ first official single.

Bibliography / References

Discogs. Bob Marley & The Wailers – Simmer Down / I Don’t Need Your Love (Coxsone, Jamaica, 7”). https://www.discogs.com/release/1513450-Bob-Marley-The-Wailers-Simmer-Down